Page 27 of The Mogul: Leonard

“Have a seat.” The words come out of my mouth bossier than I intended. She looks at me with a raised eyebrow that reveals all her contempt for my tone.

I gesture to the chair in front of my desk without apologizing for my behavior and she reluctantly sits down. I’m not the kind of person who tiptoes around her.

“So, why am I here?” She finally gives in to her curiosity.

I reach for a nondisclosure agreement contract in the desk drawer and give it to her along with my expensive pen. She rolls her eyes and doesn’t even read the contract before signing it.

As soon as she gives it back to me, I explain. “Someone’s stealing from my company.”

She stares at me for a long moment before she frowns. “You’re going to need to be more specific. I’m not a mind reader here.”

I take a deep breath and exhale slowly. “One thousand four hundred seventy-six dollars disappeared from this company without a trace.”

She scoffs. “You’re wasting my time for that ridiculous amount? You’re a billionaire!”

“The keywords here are without a trace,” I point out calmly, studying her reaction.

Her frown deepens. “What do you mean? That’s not possible.”

Now I have her full attention. I know her insatiable brain wants to know more. This is how genius works, and she is undoubtedly a genius. She may have pink hair and a sharp tongue, but you don’t get that kind of reputation in this industry by having a pretty face.

“I thought so too, but apparently nobody can track where that money went; we just know that it got out,” I say, and I’m surprised when she starts to chuckle.

“Come on! You can’t be serious. I’m sure you’ll find a solution if you take some time to look into it. Aren’t you the genius behind this empire?”

She thinks I didn’t look into it. “I’ve lost sleep over this for the past month. I have exhausted all my resources.”

She sobers up pretty quickly. “You mean you personally looked for that money?”

I nod.

“And you came up with nothing in one month? I don’t believe it,” she scoffs.

“Well, this is why I’m asking for your help. Your sister told me you’re a computer whiz, a true genius.” My lips curve up in a hopeful smile.

I don’t want to give her the satisfaction of telling her I looked her up and spent the last week debating whether I should risk the humiliation of rejection. She is smart enough to understand how desperate I am and how much I need her help.

“What if I say no?” she challenges me.

“I’ll strongly ask you to reconsider,” I say without hesitation.

I would do anything to discover who stole from me and how they did it. At this point, it’s a personal matter, and I won’t stop until I have all my answers.

“Start begging because I’m not doing it.” She says this like she’s already made her decision, and there’s nothing I can do to change her mind.

I knew it wouldn’t be easy to convince her, but I hoped there would be room for negotiation. Asking me to beg sounds more like a way to humiliate me than playing hard to get.

“I’ll give you fifty thousand dollars now and another hundred thousand when you finish the job.” I lay out my first proposal.

Her eyes widen when she hears the amount I suggest, but she recovers quickly, hiding behind a smug mask. That smirk is so irritating I almost kick her out of the office. But she knows it’s a lot of money; she probably needs it, considering where she lives. All is not lost, and I can feel the hope rising timidly in my chest.

“I don’t work for money or I’d be rich by now. Plenty of billionaires have offered me money to do their dirty jobs, and I’ve never accepted. Why should I help you?”

I tilt my head and look her straight in the eye. “Because I’m not asking you to do something illegal. If this news gets out, this company will crumble like a sand castle, leaving millions of people without the protection of our systems.” And my heart will break, but I can’t tell her that.

She snorts. “That’s hardly a problem. There are plenty of companies that can do your job.”

“How much time do they need? And are they equipped to handle massive clients like the government, or the privacy of patients at the biggest hospitals in this country? Because what we do for them is tailored to their needs, it takes months to switch from one system to another made exclusively for them,” I point out and see doubt darkening her eyes.

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